


Lessons

by jinxed_wood



Category: The Rook (TV 2019)
Genre: F/F, F/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-11
Updated: 2019-08-11
Packaged: 2020-08-19 12:27:17
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,112
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20209729
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jinxed_wood/pseuds/jinxed_wood
Summary: The Gestalt meet Myfanwy for the first time





	Lessons

The Gestalt don't remember their parents but they'd read the file. Their mother had been a teenager when they were born, overwhelmed and living in a two bedroom council flat. They were two when they were put out to fosterage, the local district nurse mistaking their quiet demeanour for symptoms of neglect, and they never saw her again. They were broken up, of course, and it was another two years before Gestalt was old enough to orientate themselves and reunite. They ran away a total of six times before they came to the attention of the Checquy. They had been five at the time.

Reading, writing and how to kill a person while simultaneously completing a math equation, were on the curriculum. Like rubbing your tummy and patting your head at the same time, except with more death. On the Island, they modelled their training on independent brain patterning techniques, as if their consciousness could be explained through neural connections. They'd learned piano through Eliza's fingers, and Crag Magav through Teddy's mat work. Everything, from their taste in music to their clothing aesthetic was carefully groomed to exude individuality where there was one. 

When they were seven, they were moved to Glengrove and the Checquy tried to assign them separate rooms. After they attempted to run away again - they didn't learn how to circumvent the surveillance cameras until they were eleven - the Checquy conceded this point to their true nature. At night, when they closed their door, they could truly be themselves and let the false demarcations fall. 

But, as difficult as their upbringing might have been, Gestalt conceded it might have been so much worse. At least the Checquy understood what they were intellectually, even if they sometimes had difficulty comprehending the reality of it, and they had acquired a modicum of respect for their abilities. They were co-opted into special operations training when they were fourteen, which was Glengrove's version of giving them a gold star, and it meant they had a future in the Checquy, one outside of Glengrove. They would be Rooks, not lab rats, and maybe even have a chance of moving up the chain of command.

They still had their rebellions; Alex and Teddy swapped roles and nobody was wiser, and sometimes it was Robert who played the piano while Eliza analysed their field reports, but they were small and insignificant, more a reminder that they had autonomy rather than a serious revolt against the system. They knew they weren't like most EVAs and they could only 'pass' in the most superficial of ways, there was no false hope of a different future. Life rolled on and they submitted to the training. 

Myfanwy Thomas came to Glengrove when they were sixteen. Coltish and wary, and brimming with power. Their first thought was _competition_, their second was..._pretty_.

She was smart and had a talent for data analytics and the sciences but stuck to running in sports and never attended any of the martial arts classes. She was skittish and at first they had thought she was maybe afraid of them, but soon they realised the truth. She didn't allow herself any bodily contact if she could help it, jerking away wildly at even the most light of touches and, once they'd heard what her particular talent was through the grapevine, it wasn't difficult to see why. 

Glengrove was not a place that encouraged relationships. Friendships engendered trust, lovers commanded loyalties. They had all been assigned vetting officers at a young age, ostensibly to make sure they kept professional boundaries, but they all knew what they were really there for. To make sure their allegiance to the Checquy went unchallenged. EVAs were the Checquy's greatest asset and greatest threat.

Gestalt wanted out of Glengrove, wanted their own place, their own freedoms, so they needed to play the game...but there was something about her that called them.

They had Eliza approach her first, with a soft smile and a sympathetic voice, and slowly but surely they pulled her out of her shell; illicit late nights of mint tea and marshmallows, with Teddy and Alex keeping sketch as Eliza slowly learned all she could about Myfanwy Thomas. She still pulled away from their touch but she felt it was only a matter of time.

"Sorry," Myfanwy said shyly as the lights flickered and she pulled her fingers from underneath Eliza's hand.

Gestalt glanced upwards. "Is that you?"

Myfanwy nodded. "Apparently my powers are tied to my emotional state."

"It's not that unusual." Eliza shrugged and Gestalt felt a thrill of excitement at the fact they'd affected her.

"What about you?" Myfanwy asked, and Eliza shrugged. "We're what we are all the time," she explained. "It's not so much a power as-" They paused. "A way of being," they eventually settled on. It was not the most accurate description but it seemed to satisfy her. Alex noticed a commotion on the upper floors, as a few of the instructors left their living quarters and looked around. The flickering lights must have caught their attention. Teddy slipped into the kitchen and slid the door's bolt home before flipping the lights, drowning them in darkness. 

"What is it?" Myfanwy said, and Gestalt shushed her.

"The instructors noticed the lights," they whispered in unison. 

Myfanwy let out a nervous snort of laughter. "So what do we do? Hang out in the dark until they go away?"

"It's either this or a visit to the vetting officer" Eliza's voice reminded her softly.

"How will we know when they're gone?"

Alex is watching the landing," they said, and they felt Myfanwy's fingers on Eliza's hand. 

"You really are one person, aren't you?"

"Yes," they said, through Eliza, as they felt Robert awaken upstairs and Gestalt reached full awareness. Myfanwy's hand slid up Eliza's arm and touched her face, her fingers warm and sure. The element in the kitchen's bulb glowed for a milisecond, revealing Myfanwy's determined face. Her fingers pulled back and Eliza reached to pull them back. 

"You'll never learn to control it if you're afraid of your power," they told her. Myfanwy's fingers lost their rigidity and Gestalt felt them stroke her cheek. 

"All of you?" she asked.

"Yes," Teddy answered for them. "We're all Gestalt."

"Gestalt," Myfanwy murmured. "Right." The lights glowed again and they caught her looking at them with a contemplative look.

"What are you thinking?"

She shrugged, pulling back her hand. "Probably best if you didn't know." 

The room fell back into darkness as the Gestalt contemplated whether getting involved with Myfanwy was such a good idea...and whether they were capable of stopping themselves. Time would tell.

**Author's Note:**

> I know I suck at titles! Hopefully the content is more engaging!


End file.
